This application generally relates to containers for liquids and more specifically, to a container having a sidewall that provides an uninterrupted comfort band defined by a sealed void between the liquid and an outer surface of the container, and to a method for forming such a sidewall.
The above-cited U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,657 (Van Handel) discloses a disposable thermally insulated container having a sidewall portion comprising a substrate layer and a film layer which cooperate to define an insulating layer therebetween, thereby maintaining the adjacent substrate material at a relatively moderate temperature even if the substrate and the film are not particularly resistant to heat transfer and the container is filled with a very hot liquid. In at least some of the described embodiments, the sidewall is formed from a sandwich-like blank generally in the shape of an annular sector, with two straight edges that are sealed together to thereby form an overlapping vertical side seam of alternating substrate and film layers without any insulation in the vicinity of the side seam, thus potentially permitting that side seam to become uncomfortably hot when the container is filled with a hot liquid.
Now expired U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,635 (Holbrook et al.) discloses a method and apparatus for forming a label in the shape of an annular sector and applying it to the exterior sidewall of a previously formed cup in the shape of a tapered frustum.
Now expired U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,948 (Amberg et al.) discloses a method and apparatus for forming a tapered sidewall for a stackable cup by placing a previously formed cylindrical tube of a heat shrinkable material over a heated mandrel.
The mentioned patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.